Palm Meadows - the best training center in the country
For all the criticism Frank Stronach has received for turning Gulfstream Park from a racetrack into a casino/concert hall/shopping mall that offers racing, he's received very little credit for developing the best training center in the country, 49 miles north of Gulfstream in Boynton Beach: Palm Meadows.
Bill Heller (14 October 2008) Issue 10
Hong Kong - Far Eastern racing run by an American
By Paul Moran
The view in one direction frames an expanse of the endless Hong Kong skyline, in another the emerald Happy Valley Racecourse, but this is unmistakably the working domain of an American. Portraits of Man o' War, Spectacular Bid and presentation photos made after races at Belmont Park, Aqueduct and Saratoga decorate the walls, the occupant standing beside Orientate, Sulamani and Funny Cide.
Paul Moran (14 February 2008 - Issue Number: 7 )
Tampa Bay Downs - from afterthought to success
Slowly, yet surely, Tampa Bay Downs is evolving from that "other track in Florida" into a viable winter/spring option for good and even great horses and horsemen."We were an afterthought," Tampa Bay Downs Vice-President and General Manager Pete Berube said. "But we've been able to dispel that stigmatism the last few years."
Bill Heller (01 December 2007 - Issue Number: 6)
What does the future hold for Great Lakes Downs?
Shane Spiess invested his future in the Michigan Thoroughbred industry nearly a decade ago when Great Lakes Downs opened in Western Michigan.
Troy Ruel (01 October 2007 - Issue Number: 5)
Are purses restraining growth?
In 1953, the average cost of a Cola drink at a U.S. racetrack was around ten cents; the minimum bet on a race, two dollars. In 2007 the average cost of a Cola drink at a U.S. racetrack is around a dollar seventy-five; the cost of a bet, in most places, still two dollars.
Caton Bredar(19 May 2007 - Issue Number: 3 )
What’s happening at Hialeah?
There is action at Hialeah in 2007. On e-bay. You can buy a Hialeah glass graced by a pink flamingo for $6.99. Flamingos are also depicted on Hialeah Park linen offered at $7.99. Or maybe you’d prefer three Hialeah post cards for $3.99.
Bill Heller (19 May 2007 - Issue Number: 3)
The European gambling scene – which way for horseracing?
The war is over: so said France Galop director general Louis Romanet a year ago, after he had put his name to a groundbreaking deal with British bookmakers Ladbrokes. For the first time, live pictures of all French races – Flat, jumps and trotting – were being made available to show in UK betting shops, via a new broadcasting service known as Ladbrokes Xtra.
Howard Wright (Trainer Magazine - issue 16 - Winter 2006)
Declaration time – anomalies around the world
Just when I thought that things in the administrative world could not get any worse, they did, though it took a trip to South Africa to discover the elements of an entry and declaration system that, at face value, makes any problems faced by European racehorse owners and trainers look like a little local difficulty.
Howard Wright (European Trainer - issue 14 - Summer 2006)
Postcard from Senonnes, the training track near Nantes and Angers
Situated in France in the Mayenne region (not far from Nantes and Angers), Senonnes is a training centre in full development.
Aurelie Dupont-Soulat (European Trainer - issue 14 - June 2006)
Are the six newly upgraded Group One races for fillies and mares in Europe worthy of their status?
Well that is too soon to say, but there is a significant difference between the newly upgraded “f&m” events and how other races that have earned Group One status over the years. The key word is “earned” of course, as a race cannot, under normal circumstances, be upgraded unless it has earned it through attracting high quality fields.
Geir Stabell (European Trainer - issue 13 - Spring 2006)
International news round up - stories from the world of racing
Kempton Park will become England’s fourth “all weather” venue when racing returns to the right-handed Sunbury oval on Saturday March 25th. Over £18.8 million has been spent on converting the track to a floodlit facility, which will also continue to stage National Hunt racing.
Giles Anderson (European Trainer - issue 13 - Spring 2006)